Zimasco comes off judicial management

HARARE,– Zimbabwe’s largest ferrochrome miner, Zimasco on Thursday announced that it had come out of judicial management after nearly two years.

The judicial manager, Grant Thornton’s Reggie Saruchera said in a statement the board and management of Zimasco will assume full control but will follow the provisions of the scheme of arrangement agreed to in December after the ferrochrome producer reported a $45 million profit from a turnover of $158 million in the period it was under care.

“We are pleased to announce that the restructuring and reorganisation of Zimasco has been successfully completed and the High Court of Zimbabwe has approved the removal of Zimasco from judicial management with effect from February 7,” said the judicial manager.

Zimasco, majority owned by China’s Sinosteel, applied for judicial management to protect its assets from creditors who wanted to attach the company’s properties and was placed under provisional judicial management by the High Court of Zimbabwe on June 3 2016.

At the time, its debts had climbed to over $65 million in 2015, from about $38 million in 2009, chiefly as a result of declining revenues as global ferrochrome prices fell, a drop in furnace capacity utilisation and an increase in fixed operating expenses.

Its recovery was aided by the lifting of a government ban on chrome ore exports in 2016, a recovery in international ferrochrome prices. In the same year, it was granted a permit to export 240,000 tonnes of high grade ferrochrome concentrate per annum, which it sells to China.

The miner still owes creditors, including banks and former workers about $130 million which it has to pay off in under five years according to the terms of the scheme of arrangement. As of January 31, it had repaid $33 million.

Zimasco operates mines in Shurugwi, Guinea Fowl, Lalapanzi, Mutorashanga and has several tributor operations along the Great Dyke. – Source

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